


Shards of Ether

by arizonia1



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening, Super Smash Brothers, Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Loose basis on Land of Lustrous, Multi, Smash Mansion, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Xenoblade Chronicles Spoilers, is it really "hurt" if a man is literally broken?, well just before it actually becomes Ultimate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 16:13:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15844818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arizonia1/pseuds/arizonia1
Summary: Master Hand is testing out all of his fighters before the newest iteration of Smash starts up. Only for things to go extremely wrong. (Spoilers for Xenoblade 1 and somewhat 2)





	Shards of Ether

It was that time once again. The Smash Brothers world was preparing for another tournament season. For the past several months, Master Hand had disallowed all of his previous fighters from hanging around the Mansion. He needed to have all the hallways cleared for both reasons of construction site danger, as well as not wanting to deal with minor complaints while he worked. Revising the Mansion for a new tournament always took a lot of time, and having the Smashers around just made it difficult. Master Hand learned his lesson between the days of Melee and Brawl.  
  
Today was different however, as he has already finished remodeling the manor. It was bigger and more grand than before. Even the exterior had gotten relandscaped. With all his work done,  Master Hand had began letting fighters back into the Mansion, so they can get settled into their new living arrangements, as well as do some preliminary test fights. These tests were what Master Hand called, “Resistance Setters”.  
  
The Resistance Setter fights were Master Hand’s way of equalizing the playing field for all his competitors. That’s how he was able to limit even goddesses like Palutena and Rosalina. Everyone has this hidden stat called “Resistance” that acts as an invisible shield, that prevents attacks from outright killing them like they would if they were outside regulated battle. This Resistance level was different for everyone, based on how well they could take certain attacks, but were periodically adjusted to account for any changes that happened outside of battle. Female Robin was one of the prime examples, as she had spent at least a half a year with an increased resistance after the birth of her son, Morgan. Other fighters, like Pit, didn’t have much in terms of Resistance level, as his angelic body already helped protect him from harm from non-Divine attacking sources.  
  
Although these preliminary fights were amongst some of the most dangerous Master Hand ever held, sometimes extreme changes to a fighter leaves them much more vulnerable than their current Resistance would be able to handle. New fighters always started with their Resistance at zero, as they hadn’t fought before in regulated battles. Today, unfortunately, would showcase just how imperative it was to make sure this stat was maintained for the coming tournament season.  
  
Shulk was amongst one of the last fighters returning from the WiiU days that needed to have his Resistance checked, as per the numerical order the fighters were assigned to. He wasn’t _the_ last, but there was only a half a dozen other veterans that needed to go through this as well. Robin had just finished his match for the day, not that much worse for wear as his Resistance was still fairly capable of protecting him from harm from before. Shulk smiled as Robin returned from the Simulation Chamber, and immediately closed in for a kiss. It had become habit from both their days in Smash, and the last several months they spent on break on Bionis, for them to kiss each other after a battle of any kind. It was their way of making sure the other was ok, (not that their daughter Linfan really enjoyed watching her parents kiss in front of her, as children usually do.)  
  
Robin stepped back a little to press his hands into Shulk’s shoulders reassuringly. “You’re going to do great today,” he said for encouragement.  
  
“I know I will!” Shulk boasted with a cheery smile. “I’ve fought Captain Falcon plenty of times, not much is bound to change with him I feel.”  
  
A light laugh was heard from the shorter male as he patted Shulk’s shoulder, and moved on to the spectator’s room. He called out that he’d be rooting for him as they started to go their separate ways. Shulk took a calming breath, before confidently walking towards the Simulation Chamber. Douglas was already waiting for his opponent, as he had just fought Robin in the last match. He gave his signature salute to the younger male, before walking to his side to await entry. The blond nodded, before starting to make his way over to the opposite side of his opponent. But then, he stopped.  
  
Shulk’s eyes glazed over for a second, before glowing blue in a mysterious light. A vision! He often got these before his matches even started, but they only foretold the first attack he’d attempt to counter, nothing more. They were in Fourside, and the city lights reflected brightly against Douglas’ attire, as he started to gear up for his signature Falcon Punch. Shulk himself was rushing towards his opponent, before crouching down to counter him. The vision cut out there, supposedly due to Shulk getting hit from the punch. The blond was never sure if he could change those visions of his first counter. Sometimes he could, other times he couldn’t. Time to test his theory, he thought as he returned to reality.  
  
Without preamble, Captain Falcon and Shulk were thrown into the bustling city of Fourside, right on top of the Monotoli Building. Shulk’s been to the city itself before, but never fought on this stage. He wasn’t sure what to expect out of this battle, but knew Master Hand wasn’t going to be cruel enough to let him get KO’d from a stage hazard here. Right?  
  
Regardless, Mr. Announcer yelled out for the two of them to begin their bout. Shulk watched as Captain Falcon leaped from the other side of the tower to land on top of it, and stare him down from above. What was he planning? It was always difficult to read what Douglas would do in a fight, is that why he was the sparring partner for Resistance Setters? Shulk would have to ask Master Hand about that later. It didn’t matter now, as Captain Falcon leapt from his perch to come down and fight Shulk directly. The blond smirked, as he jumped off from the adjacent building to try and hit his opponent just before he landed.  
  
Falcon was starting to gear up his Falcon Punch. As he came down from the top of the building, Shulk could see that clearly. Was his vision already going to happen? This soon? Well, doesn’t hurt to find out if he could counter it. That would put him at a distinct advantage for the rest of the fight. Shulk rushed in close to the racer, and crouched down to prepared himself for his counter attack. Except, he had poorly mistimed when the punch would be released. Seeing that his counter had failed, Shulk was going to improvise and try to use Slit Edge to at least knock Captain Falcon back, but it was too late. The punch had already connected.  
  
It was no secret that Douglas was a hard hitter, even with the Resistance in place. His fist collided directly with Shulk’s stomach, and he swore he felt something crack under his fist just then. As this was a Smash fight, Shulk was knocked back a little ways, but at the same time his opponent could see something was terribly, _terribly_ , wrong. As if in slow motion, Douglas watched Shulk fly backwards, more so than what someone at 0% would usually, and he swore the blond in front of him was literally cracking in to pieces before he landed back on the other building. He waited for a second, to see if Shulk would stand up again, only to see he was unmoving. Nothing but an unconscious heap laying face down on the concrete below him.  
  
Suddenly, an alarm was blaring, and Master Hand was shouting from the other side of the Fourth Wall to cut off the match. That alarm was installed after the last incident, after someone was mortally wounded due to miscalculations in the system. It going off now during a preliminary Resistance Setter was _not_ a good sign.  
  
Outside the transfer chambers, Robin was waiting just behind Master Hand, immensely worried for the state of his partner. The doors opened one at a time. Douglas stepped out, completely unharmed. Next, the doors where Shulk should have at least stumbled out opened, and the blond fell to the floor. His eyes were open, but it was as if he was staring off into nothing. He didn’t even respond to Robin calling out his name, as he sunk to his knees next to him. Only then did the tactician see that there was a crack cascading up Shulk’s face, a couple places chipped away to see a light blue shine of crystal below the surface. Frantically, Robin looked to see that the area where Shulk had been hit looked disfigured, as if something there had been utterly destroyed or broken apart. Other visible areas of Shulk’s body also had a couple cracks here and there, and _oh Gods,_ Robin knows that’s not a way a hand is supposed to twist in this position.  
  
Before Robin could even _begin_ to comprehend what has happened, Nurse Joy and her Audino were rushing in with a stretcher, hearing of the emergency. They shoved everyone out of the way, and started to carefully maneuver Shulk in such a way to get him on the stretcher, without harming him any more than he already way. Joy and her Audino gave a “One, two” before hefting up the boy, and rushing out of the room as fast as they could. Robin was left sitting on the floor in a daze, wondering what in the world just happened in the last five minutes. 

* * *

In the Infirmary just down the hall, Joy and her Audino arrived with their stretcher to see Dunban and Fiora already waiting there, with intense worry etched into their features. Joy barely had the time to tell them to move, as she rushed in to get Shulk resting on a solid surface. In her rush, the stretcher bounced a little and something fell from it. Dunban managed to catch it before it hit the floor, but almost recoiled enough to drop it once he saw it was one of Shulk’s hands.  
  
“What on Bionis happened during that match!?” Dunban shouted, as he marched over to the nurse to see the state Shulk is in.  
  
Joy calmly rested her hands to Dunban’s chest to keep enough space between him and her patient, before snatching the detached hand from his grip. “I don’t know myself. Please remain calm, sir.”  
  
Fiora stomped over next to her brother. “Calm?! We can’t be calm if Shulk is injured! Or dead! Or… whatever’s going on!”  
  
“Then at least tell us what you do know!” Dunban barked, his temper flaring up.  
  
Before Joy could even begin to explain what she vaguely knew, Robin’s voice piped up behind Dunban and Fiora. They turned to see him standing at the doorway, Linfan clutching at the frame just behind him. Robin swallowed stiffly, as he carefully walked over to the other three, where he went he told them what he saw. Shulk was doing his Resistance Setter match against Captain Falcon, and they had just started the match. He had watched as Captain Falcon punched Shulk straight in the abdomen, and shattered on impact. Fiora and Dunban glanced at each other before looking at Shulk, lying motionless on the table.  
  
“So… you think he’s still alive?” Fiora asked quietly, as Joy set down the hand she was holding.  
  
Joy pursed her lips, unsure. “It’s impossible to tell at this moment. You two know more about your species than I do, or ever will to be honest.”  
  
“But we’ve never seen anything like this before.” Dunban interjected, pulling his hair around his shoulder to toy with it in worry. “I doubt even Sharla has either. It’s like… Shulk is _made_ of Ether Crystal.”  
  
“But, if he’s made of Ether, doesn’t that mean we could just…” Fiora paused for a second, noting her next words would sound extremely strange. “Put him back together?”  
  
Dunban set his hand on his hip. “Ether does have a habit of reconnecting itself when broken if you put the pieces back together.”  
  
Nurse Joy gave the siblings a quizzical look, before looking down at Shulk. Before she even decided to test this theory, she went over to the drawers and cabinets behind her and started looking for something. Shortly thereafter, she returned with a pair of of medical shears. There was no telling how bad the damage was under that heavy sweater, and it needed to be removed. Joy placed the tip of the shears under the hem of his sweater, and started cutting up the center. She noted the lack of resistance from the material, indicating it wasn’t resting on anything really solid. After cutting open the center of the sweater, she hooked the shears under the sleeves of Shulk’s vest, and the sleeves of his sweater to get total access to whatever damage his torso sustained.  
  
Once the material was cleared, Fiora and Robin both took in an audible gasp of air as they saw that Shulk’s core had been, truly, broken into pieces. Some of the pieces had been jostled around slightly due to the movement, but otherwise they could see that the pattern almost looked like a spiderweb of broken glass that started off where Captain Falcon had punched him, and extended out in all sorts of directions.  
  
Joy sighed slightly, trying to at least maintain the facade of calm. “It seems the impact from Captain Falcon’s punch caused just enough force to break the Ether that makes up Shulk’s body.” She stopped as she traced one of the cracks. “This caused the cracks to spread in such a way that it caused the damage to trail up to his head, and to his arms.”  
  
Dunban placed a hand to his forehead in disbelief. Was he really seeing this? Now wasn’t the time to question the reality of the situation. He looked at Fiora and asked her to stay with Shulk, as he went to call Sharla. She probably knows the most about Ether Crystals, and as a Homs doctor she’d be invaluable at the moment. Robin moved a little out of the way to let Dunban pass by, before asking Linfan to go with him. She tried to protest, but he assured her it was for the best she didn’t actually see what was going on.  
  
Fiora looked down at the broken form of her companion, and wondered if she should try to help with fixing Shulk. She watched as Nurse Joy picked up the hand that had fallen earlier, and rested it against the plane of Shulk’s forearm that it had detached from. Amazingly, when she let go, the two pieces were surprisingly attached to each other. Apparently, the idea of just piecing him back together was the way to go. The problem, however, was just making sure everything went back into its proper place. At least Shulk had been wearing that sweater of his, it kept his torso mostly together. Joy looked to see that Fiora was just as amazed that her idea even worked.  
  
Robin looked at Fiora, before circling the table to rest a hand on Shulk’s face. He gently ran his thumb over the crack trailing up his cheek, stopping just before his eye. As he moved his thumb back down, Robin flinched suddenly in pain, and pulled his hand away. He could see on his thumb a drop of blood blossoming to the surface, apparently cutting himself on the crack. Joy looked up to see what caused Robin to jump suddenly, before looking back down.  
  
“Fiora, would you say Ether is extremely sharp at all?” The nurse asked as she pulled out some gloves and a bandage for Robin’s thumb.  
  
Fiora nodded a little, as she was handed a pair of gloves. “I think so. I haven’t personally worked with raw Ether too much myself, but Sharla’s cut herself plenty of times with it making new cartridges for her rifle.” She paused, as picked up a couple of the larger fragments that made up Shulk’s right arm. “I heard stories that, before metalworking was popular, Ether was used to make weapons. But, it’s so brittle that a hard enough hit will break it, so it was only used for arrows and knives.”  
  
Robin watched, as the two started trying to piece together the puzzle that was Shulk’s fractured body. He was having a difficult time getting his own hands to move to help. He had _watched_ this happen right in front of him, but powerless to help. So often it’s Shulk that gets injured during Smash, regardless of Master Hand’s regulations. Every time, Robin feels responsible, because he’s always just waiting on the sidelines, hoping for the best. He barely registers that he’s pieced together Shulk’s left arm and reattached it to his shoulder. Would putting him together even wake him up? He’s basically in a coma, or even dead at this point, having not responded at all. His fingers aren’t even twitching like that of the newly deceased. Is he still there? Robin wishes he knew.  
  
“I’m here!”  
  
Robin, Fiora, and Joy suddenly are brought to attention as another voice cuts through the eerie silence. Sharla is rushing into the room, heavy duty gloves already pulled over her fingers. Robin moves a little out of the way so Sharla can see the full extent of the damage.  
  
Fiora removed her hands from Shulk’s motionless form, before asking a single question of her fellow Homs. “Will he be ok?”  
  
Sharla looked down, as she started to look over Shulk’s torso. “I’ve only heard of something like this happening, but so long as we can reconnect the Ether that makes up his chest and head, he’ll at least be conscious again.”  
  
“Is that what you want us to focus on fixing first?” Joy asked calmly.  
  
“It would be for the best, yes. We need to test if that will really work, before we go through all the effort of fixing him.” Sharla turned to look at Robin directly. “You can help as well, if you want.”  
  
Robin looked down at the floor, and nervously traced a hand up his arm. “I think I’d just get in the way. I’ll leave this to you, Doctor. Linfan might need to know what’s going on.”  
  
Sharla smiled softly, before arranging a few pieces. “I’ve told you, just call me Sharla.”  
  
Robin turned away, before he went to the door of the infirmary to see Linfan sitting on the floor with Dunban. She was a little abrasive towards Shulk sometimes, but that was only when it concerned the Monado and her being able to use it. She loved her parents all the same, and was clearly worried about him.  
  
“Papa will be fine, right?” Linfan asked quietly, unsure if she wanted the answer.  
  
A quiet sigh. Robin himself wasn’t actually sure if Shulk would be alright. Sharla herself even said she’s only _heard_ about his condition, and she’s the Homs doctor. Taking a seat next to his daughter, Robin wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close.  
  
Robins words came out a little strained. “He should be. It’ll take some time before we actually know. Just be patient, honey.”  
  
Linfan puffed out her cheek. “I don’t like being patient, Father. I don’t like not knowing if Papa’s ok.”  
  
All Robin could do at that moment was press Linfan closer to him, just to reassure her that everything could be alright. At least, he hoped it would be. Even Dunban looked unsure of the situation, and that’s never a good sign. Dunban was always the optimist, and for _him_ to be unsure of what’s going on wasn’t good. Usually, he’d say something inspirational, as he was full of words of wisdom, but even he must have known that speaking at the moment probably wouldn’t help the situation at all. All they could do was wait.

* * *

 

It must had been an hour and a half or so before Nurse Joy emerged from the Infirmary. Linfan had fallen asleep in the meanwhile, so Robin had lightly nudged her awake to hear what the nurse needed to say.  
  
Joy had a soft smile on her face, the most pleasant she had looked all afternoon. “We’ve managed to piece enough of Shulk together that he’s starting to come to again. He’s not fully together yet, but he asked to see you, Robin.”  
  
“Only me?” Robin asked as he stood up, a little wobbly from lack of movement.  
  
All the nurse did was nod in acknowledgement to his question. Robin looked down at Linfan, who was still half-asleep. She looked up tiredly at her Father, before falling over to rest her head on Dunban’s shoulder. Robin took this as a sign that she didn’t want to see Shulk just yet, and followed Joy without a word.  
  
Frankly, Shulk was still a bit of a mess, with his torso still separate from the rest of him. It made sense, having had most of his stomach area caved in from Captain Falcon, but he was awake, just as Joy had said. He smiled up at Robin as he walked over and took his hand.  
  
“How’re you feeling?” Robin asked quietly, unsure if Shulk was fully aware of what even happened to him.  
  
Shulk laughed a little. “I feel quite fine actually. Can’t say I’m even in pain.”  
  
Robin was a only a little surprised to hear that. It probably would have been stranger if he _could_ feel pain in that state. Well, the initial impact probably hurt, but considering what he looked like at the moment, probably best he wasn’t in any sort of pain. Robin gently squeezed Shulk’s hand, noting that it still felt supple under his grasp. How curious.  
  
“Do you feel any different from before?” Sharla asked curiously. “I mean before you were broken up.”  
  
Shulk took a moment to ponder, jerking slightly as Sharla and Joy reattached the last bits of him to his torso. “Can’t say so. If this hadn’t had happened, I probably still wouldn’t know.”  
  
Carefully, now that he was in one piece, Shulk started to sit up on the table. He twisted slightly, like if he was trying to pop his joints, before settling into his usual slouch. His movements were still natural, like nothing about him had changed at all. Save for the cracks on the surface of his skin, just looking at him wouldn’t allow anyone to tell that he was different from a normal Homs. Well, his hair was a tad shinier, but Shulk himself was always known for his golden hair. This entire situation was just plain odd.  
  
Sharla watched with careful eyes every little movement Shulk did, to see if his actions were at all different than usual. At best it just looked like he was stiff, like when he woke up in the morning. She leaned back and pressed her hands to her hips for a moment.  
  
“This is so odd, I’ve heard of this phenomenon happening, but not to this scale.” Sharla said, almost confused.  
  
Fiora looked at her, and tilted her head. “What do you mean?”  
  
“Well, to put it simply, having parts of the body solidify into Ether isn’t completely unheard of for us Homs. It’s a rare condition, but at best I’ve only heard about blood vessels and the occasional muscle doing this.” She paused to look at Nurse Joy. “Basically, it’s an Ether based version of calcification. Only rarer, and affects only Bionis life, namely Homs.”  
  
Shulk folds his arms and looks down a bit. “Yet, here I sit, with a body completely crystalized. Still alive and functioning as if nothing was wrong in the first place. Well, as alive as I could be.”  
  
Sharla’s eyebrows suddenly raised. “That’s probably it actually.”  
  
“What’s it?” Robin asked.  
  
“Shulk’s crystallization is possibly a side effect of him having died.” Sharla stated. “Everything on Bionis is made of Ether, and usually that Ether is dispersed when the dead is placed in water. As Shulk was never placed in water, but also revived, his body probably started this process a long time ago.”  
  
Robin didn’t look convinced. “Then why is it that only now we’re seeing the effects of this? Shouldn’t he have noticed any sooner?”  
  
Shulk himself pondered the question for a second. “Well, possibly during the fourteen years I was more of a vessel and thus more “alive”, the process was slowed or outright stopped. When I was revived again, it probably started up again.” He stopped for a second, remembering the last few years in the Smash world, considering that he had to rely on almost artificial Ether sources to sustain himself. “Then again, it probably finished up while Ro and I were back in Bionis. Possibly my brief time in Alrest accelerated the spread of the crystals, if it wasn’t finished just then either. Ether is much more concentrated there.”  
  
Fiora gently rested her head against Shulk’s. “Regardless of why or how you’ve ended up this way, I’m just happy you’re alive. This is just another adventure isn’t it, Shulk?”  
  
Shulk laughed a little, as he leaned up to gently kiss Fiora. “I suppose it is. We’ve been through a lot recently, Fiora.”  
  
Sharla stepped back and smiled. “I’m glad I was able to help. I’m going to go back to Colony 6 to see if I can find anything more about the crystallization in any historic records. I might also ask Melia if this has been heard of in High Entian history as well.”  
  
Everyone nodded at Sharla and thanked her for helping out, especially given it was an emergency in another dimension. She turned around to make her leave, stopping to say goodbye to Dunban, and thank him for calling her. Linfan at this point had woke up full and started to make her way into the Infirmary. She looked clearly worried about Shulk as she walked up to the table.  
  
“Papa? Are you ok?” Linfan asked, her voice meek, unsure if the answer would be what she wanted to hear.  
  
Shulk smiled as he leaned over to pet her hair. “I’m just fine, Linfan. I’m sorry if I worried you.”  
  
All Linfan did was lightly jab Shulk in the shoulder, before hugging him tightly. Quietly, she started to sob as Shulk wrapped his arms around her, and telling her that he’s ok, over and over. He petted her head with a loving hand, letting her know he wasn’t going anywhere. She needed the reassurance right now. Slowly, but surely, she had started to calm down, before pulling away to wipe her tears away with her sleeve.  
  
Robin set a hand on Linfan’s shoulder. “Alright, honey. Papa and I are going to try and see if we need to tell Master Hand about his condition, and see what he says about it.”  
  
“Alright, Father.” Linfan replied, with a sad smile. “I’m going to go play with Morgan then.”  
  
Shulk kissed the top of Linfan’s head before she left. Once she was out of the room, Fiora and Robin both helped him get to his feet, just to make sure he didn’t fall over. He was a little shaky still, but he would manage after a moment. Thankfully, his legs had managed to survive the initial blow, and only cracked in a couple places. The chips were easily replaced. Once he regained his footing, Shulk gently grasped Robin’s hand so they could get to Master Hand’s Domain. Since the renovation of the Mansion, they haven’t needed to go there, and weren’t sure where it was.  
  
Fiora followed the two out of the room, but said her goodbyes there. She didn’t feel she was going to be necessary, as Robin and Shulk went to see Master Hand. She was going to go find Dunban, who had since wandered off somewhere after Linfan came in. It was probably best to tell him the news as soon as she could. 

* * *

 

It turned out that Master Hand’s Domain had been left roughly in the same place as the last iteration of the Mansion. That meant the walk there wasn’t too terrible. For that, Shulk was grateful. Despite his legs now being made of Ether, they felt like they were made of jelly instead. He was regaining his footing as they walked, but Shulk was sure he wouldn’t have been able to get himself here if Robin wasn’t there with him. He did trip a couple of times over his own feet, but Robin was at least able to catch him.  
  
Master Hand was waiting at his desk for the duo to enter. There was a few papers scattered about, but he brushed them aside and invited his fighters to take the seats in front of him.  
  
Shulk cautiously took the chair offered to him, and bowed his head down. “I’m sorry.”  
  
Master Hand interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them. “Why are you apologizing?”  
  
“If I had known that I was like this then I-!”  
  
“Nonsense. You _didn’t_ know about your condition Shulk.” Master Hand interjected. “I know you feel like knowing would have changed what happened, but I feel it’s for the best that it happened now.”  
  
Shulk looked up at Master Hand. Clearly he was distressed and unsure about what he meant about this. Was what really happened a good thing? Robin didn’t seem convinced either. If anything, he was a lot more skeptical of Master Hand’s viewpoint. He did always have a sick, twisted sense of humor. If he was serious about this, then that would be a surprise.  
  
“What do you mean that it’s “for the best” that this happened?” Robin asked, accusingly.  
  
Master Hand leaned back in his chair. “Simple. Now that I know Shulk’s condition renders him extremely fragile, I can adjust his Resistance accordingly so he won’t break in the middle of battle.”  
  
Shulk and Robin looked at each other in surprise. He did have a good point. If it wasn’t for today’s battle, then Shulk’s Resistance would have probably stayed the same. If that was the case, then he could have gotten broken in an actually important match later on. Master Hand then continued on to explain that he can put in special measures that give Shulk a special type of passive barrier, that prevents him from cracking during regulated matches. Of course, he’d have to mind himself outside battle because those measures won’t affect him in everyday life. He was told as well that no one can be held accountable for this match’s abrupt ending, and that it will be reheld another day after Shulk himself has fully recovered. Probably with a different opponent, and with his Resistance setting already raised just to prevent a repeat incident.  
  
“Will you be alright with these terms?” Master Hand asked.  
  
Shulk nodded. “Of course. Thank you, I appreciate it.”  
  
Master Hand dismissed the two fighters from his room, and they made their way outside his Domain. Shulk let out a sigh of relief now that it seems this situation is clearing itself up. It had come as such a surprise that he was even made of Ether crystal now. A lot of his physiology is now different, and he’d have to probably take note of any of the more major changes. Though, he should leave that for another day. He was still a little tired, having been locked in a comatose state for almost two hours. At least he didn’t feel like he was going to fall to the floor anymore, because his legs gave out.  
  
Robin walked in front of Shulk, and rested his hands on his shoulders, mirroring what he did only a few hours ago. “Are you sure you’re alright, Shulk?”  
  
Shulk’s only response was to kiss Robin. “I promise you, I’ll be alright. Just need to adjust is all.”  
  
Sated with the response, Robin returned the kiss before leaning back. With a simple smiled, he said that he would help Shulk figure out everything that was changed with his body. He patted his shoulders in reassurance, before asking if he wanted to start figuring out the many new mysteries they’ve been introduced to.  
  
Shulk pondered the request for a second. “I think we can wait until after I’ve taken a nap. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

**Author's Note:**

> 1) For reference's sake, Shulk's "condition" is based on the Gems of Land of the Lustrous. In addition to that, the strength of Shulk's crystal body is based on Obsidian, which is similar to glass. What Fiora says about Ether being used for weapons and being really sharp is actual traits of obsidian.  
> 2) The Nurse Joy here is supposed to be from Unova, hence her Audino and slightly more pushy nature


End file.
